200+ organisations, including climate justice groups, neighbour associations and NGOs, have signed a joint declaration highlighting the harmful consequences of night flights for health and climate, and identifying them as “unnecessary and avoidable”. Building on this momentum, groups from 10 countries took action on 13th September as part of the International Day for the Ban of Night Flights at Airports, now in its second year, to demand an “immediate end to night flights at airports”.
“Sleep is as vital to humans as eating and drinking, we cannot do without it. Yet, night flights at Brussels Airport caused serious sleep disruption for 102,000 people in 2024. Today, together with the coalition ‚It keeps us awake‘, we are once again calling for the health of citizens to be taken seriously and for the necessary measures to be taken to phase out night flights,” says Naomi Cambien, mobility expert at Bond Beter Leefmilieu.
Groups in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, South Korea, the UK and USA got creative to highlight the need for airports to “let them sleep”. From holding banners in windows and balconies of affected neighbourhoods, to drawing red lines, and even taking their pyjamas and pillows to sleep in front of municipal buildings or bringing loudspeakers there to blast aircraft noise, they stressed how the noise from take-off and landings at night can lead to serious health issues, such as cardiovascular disease and cognitive impairment in children.
“Noise from planes and fighter jets is a major issue in Korea. While decision-makers rarely live near airports, marginalised communities are forced to endure this constant nuisance — a pure injustice. We call for a ban on night flights and a reduction of all air traffic. Yet the Korean government is pushing to build ten new airports, most of them on precious wetlands, despite there being no need for more. Developmentalists will not stop until the planet collapses. These ten airports are on the government’s policy roadmap, which makes stopping them a huge challenge. But we will not stop fighting. We are proud to join the International Day for the Ban on Night Flights — the more we connect, the stronger we become,” says Nahee Kim from the Solidarity for the Cancellation of New Airports in South Korea.
Many of the groups supporting this initiative are part of Stay Grounded, a global network of more than 200 organisations for the reduction of aviation. Highlighting the feasibility of curfews from 10pm to 6am, they point to positive examples of airports that already include a similar policy, such as Zurich and Düsseldorf.
“Night flights wreck sleep and the climate,” says Inês Teles, a Stay Grounded campaigner living under a noisy Lisbon Airport flight path. “For those living close to airports, they are a proper nightmare. And on top of that, aviation’s fossil fuel emissions are driving climate breakdown, condemning present and future generations. A ban on night flights is the bare minimum. If we want a liveable future for all, we need to draw a red line: no airport expansions, limiting flights overall, no private jets, and short-haul flights replaced by trains.”
Find photos & videos of the actions here: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCtPV4